From the savannah to Asia: working together to combat illegal wildlife trade

Wildlife crime threatens wildlife populations and their habitats and jeopardises the economic basis and security of the regions concerned. GIZ is taking international action against them, targeting every link in the illegal supply chain: poaching, trade and consumer demand.

In Mpanji in southern Tanzania, Oscar Bakumbezi soaks several rags in a mixture of oil and ground chilli peppers. Next, he ties them to a taut rope. Several metres of ‘chilli fencing’ mark the farm’s boundaries. What may seem strange at first glance is in fact an integral element in the fight against poaching. ‘People used to lose their lives trying to chase elephants away from their fields,’ explains Oscar Bakumbezi, who works for the local non-governmental organisation PAMS. In their search for food, elephants often destroy fields and, in turn, the livelihoods of farmers in the region. Their resulting unpopularity with many people makes life easier for poachers, as the support of local communities is crucial in protecting the animals in the areas concerned. The fences are a simple solution: elephants dislike the pungent smell of chillies and avoid the area. ‘Since the fences were put up, people can sleep safely at night. The project protects the people and their livelihoods, but also the elephants from retaliatory killings,’ says Oscar Bakumbezi.

Illegal wildlife trade and its repercussions

Ivory, rhino horn and pangolin scales are among the most traded illegal wildlife products worldwide. In addition, animal hunting threatens habitats as the eradication of species destabilises entire ecosystems. However, wildlife crime is a problem of international proportions: it starts with poaching and is driven by demand for banned wildlife products worldwide. International criminal networks control the illegal trade and make huge sums of money from it. This also jeopardises the economic basis and stability of the countries concerned. One reason for this is that many people there work in sustainable tourism or nature conservation. But when the wildlife population is gone, these jobs will disappear with it.

In response, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is thus combating wildlife crime by addressing the end-to-end trade chain. On behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), it works with governmental actors, civil society organisations and local communities worldwide.

Local solutions and cross-border cooperation

Tanzania is a case in point: measures such as the chilli fences help to ensure that people and elephants can coexist in harmony and protect harvests. This secures the income of the farmers, who additionally benefit financially from the cultivation of chillies.  Together with PAMS, GIZ has already erected over 170 km of chilli fences in Tanzania to protect the crops of more than 1,000 farmers.

Hidden in cargo ships, airplanes and trucks, banned wildlife products are shipped around the world. Cooperation is required to recover as much as possible. GIZ has set up a platform to enable dialogue between the wildlife authorities of Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. Representatives of the countries meet several times a year to improve cross-border cooperation. At airports and in the vicinity of protected zones, specially trained sniffer dog units also help to detect illegal wildlife products. In addition, GIZ supports training of sniffer rats, which are better able than dogs to squeeze into the narrow spaces between freight containers.

Fewer souvenir purchases through education

One of the largest consumer groups can be found in Southeast Asia. Demand is particularly high there, as ivory and rhino horn are considered status symbols and are sometimes used in traditional Chinese medicine. That said, there are fewer advertisements for banned wildlife products today on Chinese social media, for example, than was the case just a few years ago. Instead, you are more likely to see messages like, ‘Prosperity through inner strength, not rhino horn’. Behind such initiatives are awareness campaigns such as ‘Travel Ivory Free’, which educate people about the consequences of wildlife crime and spread messages on social media as well as at train stations and airports. GIZ is supporting the campaign, which has already been viewed more than 240 million times on social media in China. Another success: as part of the campaign, more than one million people have pledged online not to buy ivory products when travelling abroad.

Last update: March 2025